John 18:25-40
25 Meanwhile, Simon Peter was still standing there warming himself. So they asked him, “You aren’t one of his disciples too, are you?”
He denied it, saying, “I am not.”
26 One of the high priest’s servants, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, challenged him, “Didn’t I see you with him in the garden?” 27 Again Peter denied it, and at that moment a rooster began to crow.
28 Then the Jewish leaders took Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness they did not enter the palace, because they wanted to be able to eat the Passover. 29 So Pilate came out to them and asked, “What charges are you bringing against this man?”
30 “If he were not a criminal,” they replied, “we would not have handed him over to you.”
31 Pilate said, “Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.”
“But we have no right to execute anyone,” they objected. 32 This took place to fulfill what Jesus had said about the kind of death he was going to die.
33 Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
34 “Is that your own idea,” Jesus asked, “or did others talk to you about me?”
35 “Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “Your own people and chief priests handed you over to me. What is it you have done?”
36 Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.”
37 “You are a king, then!” said Pilate.
Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”
38 “What is truth?” retorted Pilate. With this he went out again to the Jews gathered there and said, “I find no basis for a charge against him. 39 But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release ‘the king of the Jews’?”
40 They shouted back, “No, not him! Give us Barabbas!” Now Barabbas had taken part in an uprising. [1]
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There’s some strange irony in this passage. The Jewish leaders are concerned about ritual purity while they are bringing false charges against the Messiah. And the people request that Pilate release a criminal who is ironically named Barabbas, which means “Son of the Father.”
But what strikes me most of all is Jesus’ dialog with Pilate. The governor is focused on titles and power: “Are you a king?” Jesus is focused on His mission which He identifies in this passage as testifying to the truth. Pilate’s question “What is truth,” has been much discussed and debated across over the years. Was he really ignorant about truth? Or was it a comment on the uselessness of truth? Or did he ask that question knowing that Jesus meant something much beyond simply refraining from lies? In other words, was Pilate seriously interested in hearing from Jesus about the truth He came to testify about? We’ll never know in this life, but I do find it interesting that after Pilate’s question about truth, he comes to his conclusion that there is no basis for a charge against Jesus.
Regardless, this is what Jesus puts before me today: He came to testify to the truth. And what is truth? What does He mean by truth? Reading through John’s gospel, we know the answer. The truth is the revelation about the Son sent by the Father for the sake of the World. Am I on the side of truth? If so, I will want to listen to Him.
And just as truth is more than lack of lying, listening is more than operating our ears. It is the same message Jesus has spoken to the crowds and to the disciples. If we want to claim to follow Him, to be His disciples, to be on the side of truth, we will hear His words, take them to heart and let them be manifest in our lives.
So my prayer is that I show myself today to be on the side of truth, listening the Words of the Savior, and living them in all that I do.
What is the Word leading you to pray about today?
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[1] The New International Version. 2011 (Jn 18:25–40). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
